Jackiz Kirey
Dark Match Winner
Smackdown has a lot of main event superstars. You have Cody Rhodes, Chris Masters, Dolph Ziggler, and Kofi Kingston. I think Smackdown is fine. Enough main eventers for now.
What 3 things would you do to improve Smackdown?
- Thread starter Disturbed
- Start date
The Wrestler`s Wrestler
Occasional Pre-Show
The number of "wrestlers" on smackdown is actually lower then 28. Smackdown has (Not counting the divas or hornswoggle or ring announcers & managers) 20 "wrestlers"
Come to think about it Christian, Joey Mercury and Undertaker are out with injurys right now. Curt Hawkins & Trent Barreta hardly EVER show up on tv since their tag team partners have been fired. Finley is retired from the ring and is now an agent.
So as of right now smackdown only has 14 active wrestlers, Now that Santino & Kozlov are the tag team champions they get to wrestle on both raw and smackdown so I guess you could add 2 more to the roster. So yeah smackdown is in pretty bad shape as of now.
Also to quote Jackiz Kirey: "Smackdown has a lot of main event superstars. You have Cody Rhodes, Chris Masters, Dolph Zigggler, and Kofi Kingston. I think Smackdown is fine. Enough main eventers for now.
As much as I would like thoses above names, With exception to Chris Masters, To be main eventers sadly they are not.
Sora/roxas
Pre-Show Stalwart
Well Raw has allthe main eventers but they dont have alot of wrestlers either when you think about it. I personally count Nexus as one considering you almost never see any of them except wade barret and Otunga wrestle on their own. None of them have their own storyline and wont till after nexus. So if you count Nexus as one person Raw has 23 and 5 are out with inury so the only have about 16. Same as SD! but SD only has 3 injured. So 19. Alot of these people arent used such as Hawkins, Berreta, JTG, Chavo, and Masters. SO push one or two of them into the mid card and you have a very flexble roster in which you can create strong story lines.
DugoutDan17
Dark Match Winner
The reason Raw got loaded with all the main eventers was because they wanted to compete with the monday night football (is that right? im sure i remember seeing that somewhere) Smackdown has struggled with that for a while now and the current roster is the smallest ive ever seen it tbh.
Right lets try and break this down.....
As some of you have already pointed out i mean you take away Vickie Guerrero, Todd Grisham, Josh Mathews, Matt Striker, Tony Chimmel, Paul Bearer, Teddy Long and Ricardo Rodriguez (who are all none wrestlers) then you have finlay (road agent), hornswoggle (comedy side and thats about it) Trent Baretta and Curt Hawkins we havnt seen since both of there partners have been fired as The Wrestler's wrestler pointed out.
That leaves 18 to my count then as someone else said take away taker, christian and joey mercury threw injuries were down to 15 (this isnt includind divas btw)
We havnt seen JTG in weeks, months even. The numbers continue to drop. The divas on SD arnt good with a grand total of 6!
I guess what im trying to say with a bare minumum roster the draft cant come soon enough so WWE can atleast put a few guys which seem to be lost in the pack on raw over to smackdown because the last few months have been poor i for one am sick of seeing Edge and Kane take up the entire show running round with Paul Bearer this proves they havnt got anywhere near enough talent on the brand.
The guys im taking about from Raw who would benefit smackdown are the guys like John Morrison a guy who can no doubt hold his own on the Raw brand but with so many big names taking the main event spots it dusnt really give JoMo a chance to shine like he would have done on SD this past year. If JoMo would have stayed on SD he would have won the world title by now i have no doubt in that but over on Raw hes remained that guy who is just coming up short of the main event spot.
Ted Dibiase is a guy who i think has a hell of a lot of potential but remains stuck in kind of poor storylines with Golddust and maryse i think the guy needs a change of brands to freshen up.
Evan Bourne a guy who is highly "over" with alot of people in and out of wwe would probably do better on smackdown.
Ezekiel Jackson - What a powerhouse this guy is put him on SD and turn him heel against the like of mysterio, big show, christian (when back), kofi, edge and even masters. Him and Edge for the title would turn big zeek into a main eventer on smackdown.
David Hart Smith - Now he's split from Tyson Kidd and as soon as the draft comes along get this guy to smackdown in a nice midcard slot feuding with the likes of mcintyre, cody rhodes, alberto del rio, ziggler etc etc alot more options for him on there then not competing on raw.
I think wwe should bleed the smackdown brand full of youth with only 2-3 main eventers on there and give the young guys tv time to get over with fans etc. Just my opinion but its something the wwe need to sort soon because the brand is very limited.
Right lets try and break this down.....
As some of you have already pointed out i mean you take away Vickie Guerrero, Todd Grisham, Josh Mathews, Matt Striker, Tony Chimmel, Paul Bearer, Teddy Long and Ricardo Rodriguez (who are all none wrestlers) then you have finlay (road agent), hornswoggle (comedy side and thats about it) Trent Baretta and Curt Hawkins we havnt seen since both of there partners have been fired as The Wrestler's wrestler pointed out.
That leaves 18 to my count then as someone else said take away taker, christian and joey mercury threw injuries were down to 15 (this isnt includind divas btw)
We havnt seen JTG in weeks, months even. The numbers continue to drop. The divas on SD arnt good with a grand total of 6!
I guess what im trying to say with a bare minumum roster the draft cant come soon enough so WWE can atleast put a few guys which seem to be lost in the pack on raw over to smackdown because the last few months have been poor i for one am sick of seeing Edge and Kane take up the entire show running round with Paul Bearer this proves they havnt got anywhere near enough talent on the brand.
The guys im taking about from Raw who would benefit smackdown are the guys like John Morrison a guy who can no doubt hold his own on the Raw brand but with so many big names taking the main event spots it dusnt really give JoMo a chance to shine like he would have done on SD this past year. If JoMo would have stayed on SD he would have won the world title by now i have no doubt in that but over on Raw hes remained that guy who is just coming up short of the main event spot.
Ted Dibiase is a guy who i think has a hell of a lot of potential but remains stuck in kind of poor storylines with Golddust and maryse i think the guy needs a change of brands to freshen up.
Evan Bourne a guy who is highly "over" with alot of people in and out of wwe would probably do better on smackdown.
Ezekiel Jackson - What a powerhouse this guy is put him on SD and turn him heel against the like of mysterio, big show, christian (when back), kofi, edge and even masters. Him and Edge for the title would turn big zeek into a main eventer on smackdown.
David Hart Smith - Now he's split from Tyson Kidd and as soon as the draft comes along get this guy to smackdown in a nice midcard slot feuding with the likes of mcintyre, cody rhodes, alberto del rio, ziggler etc etc alot more options for him on there then not competing on raw.
I think wwe should bleed the smackdown brand full of youth with only 2-3 main eventers on there and give the young guys tv time to get over with fans etc. Just my opinion but its something the wwe need to sort soon because the brand is very limited.
Smackdown isn't in any sort of trouble, that much I can promise you.
I think the real story here lies with your figures. You have stated that Raw has 39 wrestlers and Smackdown has 28. To me, the most worrying thing is that Raw has almost 40 active wrestlers on their books, if your figures are to be believed. 39 wrestlers is far too much for a show that only has a two hour time limit on a Monday night. Call me insane but it is no wonder that all of the talent that moves to Raw seems to get buried until you can't even recognise them any more.
Honestly, Smackdown is doing fine. From top to bottom, they have stars that are on TV week in and week out. They have popularity amongst the people who watch the show and you get the feeling that Smackdown seems like the ship that seems to have their shit in order of the two. To me, Raw needs to trim some of the fat. In fact, I would urge both shows to do the same and get it down to around 22-25 active wrestlers per show. There is simply no need to have any more than that. Whilst I understand that the WWE are bringing in a lot of new faces to build for the future. That is overkill and you are actually doing more harm than good by having them get no experience other than getting an ass-kicking from Cena every week.
I think the real story here lies with your figures. You have stated that Raw has 39 wrestlers and Smackdown has 28. To me, the most worrying thing is that Raw has almost 40 active wrestlers on their books, if your figures are to be believed. 39 wrestlers is far too much for a show that only has a two hour time limit on a Monday night. Call me insane but it is no wonder that all of the talent that moves to Raw seems to get buried until you can't even recognise them any more.
Honestly, Smackdown is doing fine. From top to bottom, they have stars that are on TV week in and week out. They have popularity amongst the people who watch the show and you get the feeling that Smackdown seems like the ship that seems to have their shit in order of the two. To me, Raw needs to trim some of the fat. In fact, I would urge both shows to do the same and get it down to around 22-25 active wrestlers per show. There is simply no need to have any more than that. Whilst I understand that the WWE are bringing in a lot of new faces to build for the future. That is overkill and you are actually doing more harm than good by having them get no experience other than getting an ass-kicking from Cena every week.
HellBoundPower
Earth Born, HellBound
Lately watching SmackDown has almost been like watching Superstars. A lot of unestablished talent battling each other for no reason. Aside from Kane and Edge running around in the back killing dumbies, and Alberto Del Rio calling Rey Mysterio a chihuahua, there aren't really any feuds going on. With the Undertaker and Christian both out, there's not really much star power on the show. They're forced to make Kane and Edge take up half the show, because they're the only established talent. They're really hurting for star power right now, and I think most of the trades that went to Raw in the draft, such as Truth and Morrison, really hurt the brand.
What the WWE needs to do is balance out the rosters and get some names over to SmackDown. People like Morrison, Truth, and maybe even a big name like a John Cena or a Randy Orton. Until Taker comes back, and to a lesser degree, Christian, SmackDown is going to suffer from lack of talent, without a lot of room to establish new talent. Unless they start putting some of the new names over established talent with big names, no one is going to be able to take them seriously.
What the WWE needs to do is balance out the rosters and get some names over to SmackDown. People like Morrison, Truth, and maybe even a big name like a John Cena or a Randy Orton. Until Taker comes back, and to a lesser degree, Christian, SmackDown is going to suffer from lack of talent, without a lot of room to establish new talent. Unless they start putting some of the new names over established talent with big names, no one is going to be able to take them seriously.
They're doing fine. You don't NEED a huge roster. In a 2 hour show only so many guys can be prominently showcased, while the rest get buried, so only having 28 guys saves having to have 20 rotate jobbing from week to week. They have enough guys around for a mid card title scene and a world title scene along with some random non title feuds, if they can fill out 2 hours without having guys wrestle 2 matches then, trust me, they're fine.
In the draft I wouldn't mind seeing Smackdown pick up a few guys, if only to save those guys from being lost in the shuffle over on Raw. In a few years, after a lot of these vets are gone, then I believe Raw will have a huge roster. They'll need all the starpower they can get, because they'll be missing guys who have been main eventing for the better part of a decade. That's the only time, in the forseeable future, I can see Smackdown in any kind of trouble.
In the draft I wouldn't mind seeing Smackdown pick up a few guys, if only to save those guys from being lost in the shuffle over on Raw. In a few years, after a lot of these vets are gone, then I believe Raw will have a huge roster. They'll need all the starpower they can get, because they'll be missing guys who have been main eventing for the better part of a decade. That's the only time, in the forseeable future, I can see Smackdown in any kind of trouble.
Hollywood Naitch
The current reigning and defending
None of them are main eventers.
IMO the WWE needs to combine the rosters again. Yes maybe some low card talent gets released, but there are not enough main eventers right now, which is making the PPV cards look weak.
The Other Hardy Brother
Occasional Pre-Show
Alberto Del Rio
Big Show
Cody Rhodes
Dolph Ziggler
Drew Mcintyre
Edge
Jack Swagger
Kane
Kofi Kingston
Rey Mysterio
Tyler Reks
Those are the only 11 people you consistently see on Smackdown and Reks is very recent. Masters and Chavo are used on occasion so if you count them there are 13. Christian, Kaval, and Undertaker are all injured and when they come back that is 16.
Sixteen seems like a fair number to me. A tag team match, a divas match, Three singles matches. With what they have now. I have always said seven matches is a good number for a wrestling show. That was five. So bring Chavo, Masters, JTG and Hawkins and Baretta on more consistently at least till the stars get healthy and you could have a solid show. It's not the number of wrestlers its that the wrestlers have no personality that is todays problem with WWE.
Big Show
Cody Rhodes
Dolph Ziggler
Drew Mcintyre
Edge
Jack Swagger
Kane
Kofi Kingston
Rey Mysterio
Tyler Reks
Those are the only 11 people you consistently see on Smackdown and Reks is very recent. Masters and Chavo are used on occasion so if you count them there are 13. Christian, Kaval, and Undertaker are all injured and when they come back that is 16.
Sixteen seems like a fair number to me. A tag team match, a divas match, Three singles matches. With what they have now. I have always said seven matches is a good number for a wrestling show. That was five. So bring Chavo, Masters, JTG and Hawkins and Baretta on more consistently at least till the stars get healthy and you could have a solid show. It's not the number of wrestlers its that the wrestlers have no personality that is todays problem with WWE.
AnthonyMango/NoFate007
A Post Is Worth A Thousand Words
The main reason Raw has more right now is because of the Nexus. That was a sudden addition of 9 new guys (Wade, Otunga, Gabriel, Slater, Tarver, Bryan, Skip, Harris, and Hennig). Once they do the draft and split up the Nexus members, on top of potentially adding people from Season 2 and Season 4 of NXT, then the numbers on Smackdown can fill out some more. Then there could be more releases on top of that. Sure, Smackdown has 5 or 6 people in danger of being fired, but Raw isn't without those names either. Darren Young is going absolutely nowhere. William Regal is retiring within a year probably. Khali is inactive most of the time. The Usos aren't exactly turning heads. Tarver and Sheffield may not go anywhere. Primo's a waste of space. Yoshi Tatsu, I doubt he's at the top of their agenda, seeing as how they can't even fit him on TV more than once every couple of months.
Raw does have more to work with right now, and if Smackdown loses another big name or two, like Edge and Mysterio, then they're FUCKED, but I think it'll last ok until the draft. There's really only a couple of months left and most of that time will be spent with people going back-and-forth between shows, as the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania aren't usually very black/white (or should I say, red/blue) when it comes to keeping people separated.
Raw does have more to work with right now, and if Smackdown loses another big name or two, like Edge and Mysterio, then they're FUCKED, but I think it'll last ok until the draft. There's really only a couple of months left and most of that time will be spent with people going back-and-forth between shows, as the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania aren't usually very black/white (or should I say, red/blue) when it comes to keeping people separated.
martymcfly
Getting Noticed By Management
I think one reason that the RAW show has so many wrestlers in comparison is because of Nexus. Seriously though, outside of barrett, I would count the entire nexus roster as 1 because they don't really do anything individually.
THE RKO ANIMAL
Dark Match Jobber
Its No Secret that SmackDown's Roster is Very Very Thin. In General, the WWE Roster is Thin, But You Look at Smackdown's Roster and Its Not Special at All.
You Have Kane and Edge Basically Running the Show. Then You Have Guys Like Del Rio and Mysterio, Who are Good, But Mysterio isn't in the Greatest Shape Anymore. You Have Undertaker Who Comes Back and Then a Month Later is Back on the Shelf.
I Like What They Have Been Able to do with the Likes of Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Codt Rhodes and Jack Swagger, but that isn't gonna Help You in Ratings or Anything.
This Is What I would like to see go down in the Draft.
First SmackDown Gets Rid of a little of its Younger Talent Like Dolph and Kofi, Give them to RAW, and in Exchange SmackDown Would Get these 3 Men.
Sheamus- I am Getting Sick of Seeing him on RAW Every Week, I Can Picture Him on SmackDown, and I Think he Would Do Very Good There.
Ted DiBiase- He is Doing Nothing, Absolutely Nothing on RAW. Move Him Over to SmackDown, and I Think He Will Thrive Just Like Rhodes and Ziggler Have Been able to do.
The Miz- Miz Moving Over To SmackDown Would be a Good Move in My Opinion, because it Would Give Some Star Power to SmackDown and RAW Would Still be Able to Keep Orton, Cena and HHH.
The Main Event Scene on SmackDown Would Now Be Kane, Edge, Sheamus, Rey, and Undertaker.
Then The Uppermidcard Would Be Miz, Del Rio and So On
Then Mid-Card Will Go to DiBiase, McIntyre, Swagger and So On.
What Do you Think?
You Have Kane and Edge Basically Running the Show. Then You Have Guys Like Del Rio and Mysterio, Who are Good, But Mysterio isn't in the Greatest Shape Anymore. You Have Undertaker Who Comes Back and Then a Month Later is Back on the Shelf.
I Like What They Have Been Able to do with the Likes of Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Codt Rhodes and Jack Swagger, but that isn't gonna Help You in Ratings or Anything.
This Is What I would like to see go down in the Draft.
First SmackDown Gets Rid of a little of its Younger Talent Like Dolph and Kofi, Give them to RAW, and in Exchange SmackDown Would Get these 3 Men.
Sheamus- I am Getting Sick of Seeing him on RAW Every Week, I Can Picture Him on SmackDown, and I Think he Would Do Very Good There.
Ted DiBiase- He is Doing Nothing, Absolutely Nothing on RAW. Move Him Over to SmackDown, and I Think He Will Thrive Just Like Rhodes and Ziggler Have Been able to do.
The Miz- Miz Moving Over To SmackDown Would be a Good Move in My Opinion, because it Would Give Some Star Power to SmackDown and RAW Would Still be Able to Keep Orton, Cena and HHH.
The Main Event Scene on SmackDown Would Now Be Kane, Edge, Sheamus, Rey, and Undertaker.
Then The Uppermidcard Would Be Miz, Del Rio and So On
Then Mid-Card Will Go to DiBiase, McIntyre, Swagger and So On.
What Do you Think?
Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
What I think needs to happen to SmackDown! is that the exclusive brand format needs to end altogether, thus meaning that lots of different feuds can happen and crossovers between the shows could become more common as well. The exclusivity of the brand format has run its course in my view.
Secondly, I believe that SD! would benefit from being moved to a different night and broadcast live each week just as Raw is. When they had SD! on USA live last week, there was a different energy for the show. I'm not saying that the entire show was phenomenal as there were a few low points, but the appearance of Raw wrestlers on the roster, the show being live and being on USA gave SD! the biggest rating it's had in a long time. As I mentioned ending the exclusive brand format, the Cena/Ziggler matches on Raw & SD! last week gave a good look at how entertaining and fresh that would feel. Almost 4 million people in the states tuned in to see SmackDown! that Tuesday and those are the kinds of numbers that Vince wants to see for the show. I don't believe, however, that SD! is going to pull those numbers airing on Friday nights with a pre-taped show and on a relatively weak network.
Secondly, I believe that SD! would benefit from being moved to a different night and broadcast live each week just as Raw is. When they had SD! on USA live last week, there was a different energy for the show. I'm not saying that the entire show was phenomenal as there were a few low points, but the appearance of Raw wrestlers on the roster, the show being live and being on USA gave SD! the biggest rating it's had in a long time. As I mentioned ending the exclusive brand format, the Cena/Ziggler matches on Raw & SD! last week gave a good look at how entertaining and fresh that would feel. Almost 4 million people in the states tuned in to see SmackDown! that Tuesday and those are the kinds of numbers that Vince wants to see for the show. I don't believe, however, that SD! is going to pull those numbers airing on Friday nights with a pre-taped show and on a relatively weak network.
I can agree with this. Especially since there's been talk of unifying the titles together. That way, they address the problem of them being under-staffed in terms of talent to work the shows. Thing is, when they do away with this, there's a huge obstacle to overcome: the roster will be too big for two main shows, not to mention their one hour shows. This happened back then, and they basically started the brands. Hopefully, doing away the Exclusive Brand will just mean that both creative teams (which will be a pretty large number, if you think about it) to be able to write for all these shows, not to mention the workers have a chance to extend their programs, the producers to be able to work with guys they want to work with, etc.
Again I agree with this, but the thing is, the show HAS to move to Tuesday nights. They're going to be facing problems with taking the equipment from one place to another should they go for a Live show on Friday nights. It is also true that they're in a relatively weak network in Syfy. So, a switch is definitely needed.
Talent-wise, Smackdown needs to build up their mid-card. As is, Ziggler is sitting pretty at the mid-card (say what you will, but he's actually bringing the title's prestige up, but more on that later.) Which, in my opinion, makes it a really stupid choice to send him to Raw. It would be a Morrison scenario (strong showing, consistent crowd reaction, then gets drafted and the reaction fizzles out). Sending DiBiase would work, somewhat. But he needs to figure out what the fuck kinda' gimmick he could use since the Million-Dollar Son thing was just a crash and burn. Kofi just needs another feud to get his feet together. Given the fact that before his draft (which I will now call the reaction-killer) he was just so close in being Main Event what with his feud with Orton.
I would be remiss in saying that him and a Rhodes feud can work, if anything to give him a little steam again. The guys can work, this is sure. But these both can get stuff going given the right chance.
That's as much as I can gather from first glance, really.
Simple answer... main eventers.
Right now the only dedicated main event superstars on Smackdown are Edge and Undertaker, and Taker is only there like, 4 months out of the year. Big Show gets honorable mention as a main eventer, but I feel like much of his time is no dedicated to silly things and I don't see him being a contender for the WHC anytime soon.
Many of you are probably thinking, "What about Christian? Kane? Rey Mysterio? Jack Swagger?" Just because once upon a time these superstars were in the main event doesn't make them full time main event status. Before his reign as champ, Kane was jumping from midcard feud to midcard feud. Christian hasn't risen above ECW champion since his stint in the WWE. Rey makes the occasional trip to the main event every year, but most of the time he is feuding with other mid-level superstars. Finally, besides one mediocre run as champ, Swagger really hasn't done all the much to put himself in the spotlight. His brief feud with Edge was very entertaining, but nothing came of it for the All American American.
What can they do? Elevate some of their midcarders to main event status by putting them in interesting feuds and putting them over RAW superstars. Three superstars are more than ready for the upgrade, and they are Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger. Yes, they are all heels, but I don't doubt Ziggler or Swagger could turn face fairly easily. By putting them over the likes of Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Big Show, and R-Truth, you can take these midcard stars and change them into main event status.
Another obvious option is to import some talent from RAW. Getting Zeke was a good start, but he's not going to be in the main event anytime soon. On the other hand, Sheamus and Wade Barrett are both experienced in the main event and have both delivered good feuds and good matches. By plopping them on Smackdown Edge will have a new superstar to feud with while the others work their way into main event status. If the WWE plans on leaving the belt on Edge, they only need to bump up one heel at a time.
And finally, as Jack-Hammer suggested, they could end the exclusiveness of the brand extension. Let superstars feud on each others shows. A Miz-Edge feud would be pretty cool, as would a long term Ziggler-Bryan feud. Kofi has been hovering around the top of the midcard forever, what better way to elevate him than by putting him over a Sheamus or CM Punk? And couldn't you see Morrison and Cody Rhodes having a pretty entertaining feud? By ending the brand exclusiveness, the WWE opens up a whole new world of feuds, feuds well worth watching.
Right now the only dedicated main event superstars on Smackdown are Edge and Undertaker, and Taker is only there like, 4 months out of the year. Big Show gets honorable mention as a main eventer, but I feel like much of his time is no dedicated to silly things and I don't see him being a contender for the WHC anytime soon.
Many of you are probably thinking, "What about Christian? Kane? Rey Mysterio? Jack Swagger?" Just because once upon a time these superstars were in the main event doesn't make them full time main event status. Before his reign as champ, Kane was jumping from midcard feud to midcard feud. Christian hasn't risen above ECW champion since his stint in the WWE. Rey makes the occasional trip to the main event every year, but most of the time he is feuding with other mid-level superstars. Finally, besides one mediocre run as champ, Swagger really hasn't done all the much to put himself in the spotlight. His brief feud with Edge was very entertaining, but nothing came of it for the All American American.
What can they do? Elevate some of their midcarders to main event status by putting them in interesting feuds and putting them over RAW superstars. Three superstars are more than ready for the upgrade, and they are Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger. Yes, they are all heels, but I don't doubt Ziggler or Swagger could turn face fairly easily. By putting them over the likes of Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, Big Show, and R-Truth, you can take these midcard stars and change them into main event status.
Another obvious option is to import some talent from RAW. Getting Zeke was a good start, but he's not going to be in the main event anytime soon. On the other hand, Sheamus and Wade Barrett are both experienced in the main event and have both delivered good feuds and good matches. By plopping them on Smackdown Edge will have a new superstar to feud with while the others work their way into main event status. If the WWE plans on leaving the belt on Edge, they only need to bump up one heel at a time.
And finally, as Jack-Hammer suggested, they could end the exclusiveness of the brand extension. Let superstars feud on each others shows. A Miz-Edge feud would be pretty cool, as would a long term Ziggler-Bryan feud. Kofi has been hovering around the top of the midcard forever, what better way to elevate him than by putting him over a Sheamus or CM Punk? And couldn't you see Morrison and Cody Rhodes having a pretty entertaining feud? By ending the brand exclusiveness, the WWE opens up a whole new world of feuds, feuds well worth watching.
Tired0FthePeople
Defender of the Universe
Actually, Id make the brands more exclusive instead of ending it.
Its been said over and over again that TNA would challenge WWE if they had WWE's production capabilities and shows like NJPW or ROH would perhaps be well received by the fans if they could produce themselves like WWE. Instead of ending the brands and basically watching RAW twice a week, Id make Smackdown a totally different show. Well maybe not 'totally' but different enough rather than just 2 episodes of RAW a week.
First like everyone else said you'd have to add some star power to SD. Undertaker wrestling more often would be great, plus add stars like Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho. Id make feature something that RAW didnt feature, like perhaps make the mid card more active over there. Id create another faction like Nexus (not LIKE nexus, but they are the only faction...Id have SD feature their own powerful faction..perhaps Del Rio could become the leader of some faction that featured rich, powerful handsome cocky heels.
OK so we'd add some stars, create an interestion faction and give them something/someone(s) to feud with. Make the IC title a major focus instead of a prop. I cant remember the last time I saw the IC title or US title defended on TV. I saw Ziggler and Bryan facing one another and I see Bryan getting squashed by Shaemus and facing Regal and the title isnt even on the line. Have Kingston, Swagger, Ziggler, Bryan, Rey and a few other mid carders actually feuding and going after the IC title like the main eventers go after the WWE title. Again, create a major stable. Have some kind of SD only feature like...all matches have 'pure rules' or a sort of 'x division' is heavily pushed. I know I just stole these ideas from ROH and TNA but it doesnt have to be these specific ideas, just something thats not RAW...thats totally different from RAW.
John Cena's and Nexus's dont just grow on trees, but Id definately create major stars and having major feuds with a different stable and a twist...sort of like and x division or pure rule matches or Lucha Libre(sp) heavy matches....ANYTHING. With WWE production SD could be a completely different animal from RAW that would give wrestling fans almost two different wrestling shows than just one. The fact is wrestling fans are split...a lot of people like different things and so making SD just another RAW could work...shit it IS working but if I were in charge Id create a program thats different from the typical RAW and reach out to some people who like something a little different.
Id make inter promotional matches between RAW and SD stars something special like interleague play in baseball.
Its been said over and over again that TNA would challenge WWE if they had WWE's production capabilities and shows like NJPW or ROH would perhaps be well received by the fans if they could produce themselves like WWE. Instead of ending the brands and basically watching RAW twice a week, Id make Smackdown a totally different show. Well maybe not 'totally' but different enough rather than just 2 episodes of RAW a week.
First like everyone else said you'd have to add some star power to SD. Undertaker wrestling more often would be great, plus add stars like Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho. Id make feature something that RAW didnt feature, like perhaps make the mid card more active over there. Id create another faction like Nexus (not LIKE nexus, but they are the only faction...Id have SD feature their own powerful faction..perhaps Del Rio could become the leader of some faction that featured rich, powerful handsome cocky heels.
OK so we'd add some stars, create an interestion faction and give them something/someone(s) to feud with. Make the IC title a major focus instead of a prop. I cant remember the last time I saw the IC title or US title defended on TV. I saw Ziggler and Bryan facing one another and I see Bryan getting squashed by Shaemus and facing Regal and the title isnt even on the line. Have Kingston, Swagger, Ziggler, Bryan, Rey and a few other mid carders actually feuding and going after the IC title like the main eventers go after the WWE title. Again, create a major stable. Have some kind of SD only feature like...all matches have 'pure rules' or a sort of 'x division' is heavily pushed. I know I just stole these ideas from ROH and TNA but it doesnt have to be these specific ideas, just something thats not RAW...thats totally different from RAW.
John Cena's and Nexus's dont just grow on trees, but Id definately create major stars and having major feuds with a different stable and a twist...sort of like and x division or pure rule matches or Lucha Libre(sp) heavy matches....ANYTHING. With WWE production SD could be a completely different animal from RAW that would give wrestling fans almost two different wrestling shows than just one. The fact is wrestling fans are split...a lot of people like different things and so making SD just another RAW could work...shit it IS working but if I were in charge Id create a program thats different from the typical RAW and reach out to some people who like something a little different.
Id make inter promotional matches between RAW and SD stars something special like interleague play in baseball.
Smackdown is truly an awful show, I end up fast forwarding about 60% of it.
1. More Promos, Less 15 minute midcard matches - I don't want to see 15 minute matches for the sake of it. I mean they have all these young guys, and they give them no chance on the mic, no reason for the feuds, and nothing. It's boring, I don't give a rats ass about the outcomes because there are no storyline implications. The perfect example was that Dolph-Kofi feud, they had like 15 matches together, none were very good, yet they did them near weekly. Not only did this oversaturate them, they had about no promo time to go with it. Give these guys promo time, some storylines, and a reason for existing. I'd draft Jericho back to Smackdown as soon as he comes back, they are seriously missing a heel that can take the mic for a long promo. Jack Swagger was shaping up to be that guy, but they buried him. Alberto Del Rio can not take the mic for that long, and Kane is incredibly boring.
2. Live - It's without saying that another reason Smackdown has that dull feel is it's not live like Raw. There is no excitement, and that easily translates to me not being excited. Though unless they improve the quality, the gimmick won't last and you'll just have dead live crowds.
3. Make it less predictable and book better - Every week we see the same crap on Smackdown, it's quite predictable. There are no twist and turns, while Raw has had plenty over the past couple of months. Rey is kind of the poster boy for this, it doesn't matter who he is facing, in what kind of match, ever match feels the same, and the outcomes are pretty much the same as well. Speaking of Rey, Smackdown has some of the shittiest booking in history. Yeah let's have Del Rio take out Rey, have him come back, and have a match on Smackdown rather then a PPV. Then let's further oversaturate them by having them in matches against each other basically every week. Smackdown has become a cookie cutter, old school style rasslin' show, and it sucks. I don't want rasslin' I want sports entertainment. Spice it up, change it up, and maybe it won't be a snorefest.
1. More Promos, Less 15 minute midcard matches - I don't want to see 15 minute matches for the sake of it. I mean they have all these young guys, and they give them no chance on the mic, no reason for the feuds, and nothing. It's boring, I don't give a rats ass about the outcomes because there are no storyline implications. The perfect example was that Dolph-Kofi feud, they had like 15 matches together, none were very good, yet they did them near weekly. Not only did this oversaturate them, they had about no promo time to go with it. Give these guys promo time, some storylines, and a reason for existing. I'd draft Jericho back to Smackdown as soon as he comes back, they are seriously missing a heel that can take the mic for a long promo. Jack Swagger was shaping up to be that guy, but they buried him. Alberto Del Rio can not take the mic for that long, and Kane is incredibly boring.
2. Live - It's without saying that another reason Smackdown has that dull feel is it's not live like Raw. There is no excitement, and that easily translates to me not being excited. Though unless they improve the quality, the gimmick won't last and you'll just have dead live crowds.
3. Make it less predictable and book better - Every week we see the same crap on Smackdown, it's quite predictable. There are no twist and turns, while Raw has had plenty over the past couple of months. Rey is kind of the poster boy for this, it doesn't matter who he is facing, in what kind of match, ever match feels the same, and the outcomes are pretty much the same as well. Speaking of Rey, Smackdown has some of the shittiest booking in history. Yeah let's have Del Rio take out Rey, have him come back, and have a match on Smackdown rather then a PPV. Then let's further oversaturate them by having them in matches against each other basically every week. Smackdown has become a cookie cutter, old school style rasslin' show, and it sucks. I don't want rasslin' I want sports entertainment. Spice it up, change it up, and maybe it won't be a snorefest.
Loveless Kidd
New Member
Jack Swagger, Christian, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, They need to be competing for the World Heavyweight Championship. Also I think SmackDown should be Live, that way they can improve their ratings 
.
.Long Island Iced WXYZ
Take care, spike your hair.
For all these people that say Smackdown should go live on friday nights; that would be a DISASTER.
You can throw everything to make Smackdown a top tier show, it's still on friday nights. Fridays are not the best days for tv.
1. Get rid of Superstars and put Smackdown on thursday nights. It'll get more viewers with that move and a few other changes.
2. They need to build new stars. Don't let Mysterio and Big Show dominate everything. Look at RAW. The Miz is the WWE Champion.
Look at Smackdown, Edge is the World Heavyweight Champion. Ten times!!! Come on. I love Edge, but they should have built up someone else instead of Edge to get the title again.
And another thing. I don't know how many people remember that RAW where all the Smackdown guys had to be on the show because of the volcano in Europe stranded everyone.
Those Smackdown guys felt and looked so out of place it made the whole show feel weird.
With the exception of Edge, Jericho, Mysterio and Undertaker, there is a big difference between the stars on both shows.
3. Utilize the divas more. I really think they can draw ratings if they use them properly. And they have women that can go. Natalya, Beth Phoenix, move Gail over and let Smackdown be the premiere "wrestling show" for everyone.
You can throw everything to make Smackdown a top tier show, it's still on friday nights. Fridays are not the best days for tv.
1. Get rid of Superstars and put Smackdown on thursday nights. It'll get more viewers with that move and a few other changes.
2. They need to build new stars. Don't let Mysterio and Big Show dominate everything. Look at RAW. The Miz is the WWE Champion.
Look at Smackdown, Edge is the World Heavyweight Champion. Ten times!!! Come on. I love Edge, but they should have built up someone else instead of Edge to get the title again.
And another thing. I don't know how many people remember that RAW where all the Smackdown guys had to be on the show because of the volcano in Europe stranded everyone.
Those Smackdown guys felt and looked so out of place it made the whole show feel weird.
With the exception of Edge, Jericho, Mysterio and Undertaker, there is a big difference between the stars on both shows.
3. Utilize the divas more. I really think they can draw ratings if they use them properly. And they have women that can go. Natalya, Beth Phoenix, move Gail over and let Smackdown be the premiere "wrestling show" for everyone.
stilltippin
Occasional Pre-Show
This is the Smackdown i would love.
Thursday Nights 9pm-11
Edge, Jericho, and HHH (the already established guys who dont need the Main Spotlight on the Main Show.. these guys can hold the title and when the time is right push the Up and comers..
McIntyre, Barrett Del Rio, Kane, Ziggler, Kingston, should all be in the Main Event spotlight as well in some capacity at some point!
When these guys i mentioned above are not in the WHC title picture.. they should be competiting for the Intercontinental title.. sorta how it was in the older times..
Michael Cole needs to be on SD! as well, but they need to find someone else to be on the mic with him.. Grisham blowed and so does striker.. and think the josh matthews guy is ok but definately not anything that should be permanent
New GM.. Teddy Long is so done.. He never appealed to me as the GM.. Vickie was a better GM.. but even she shouldn't step up to the full GM position again.. They need someone different who can draw heat or some noise from the crowd
I would like SD! to be live on thursday nights as well.. but im ok with it being taped if it were to air back on thursdays.. i almost never watch SD! when it actually airs do the friday being the party night ya know.. Back in 08-the beggining of 2010, I watched Smackdown on Mondays rather than raw, due to it being the better show.. but now i only watch if i hear of people talking about an interesting match..
but i wouldn't care if they taped it if it aired on thursday.
Its dumb.. all this stuff is little things, wouldn't cost vince much of anything to fix these things and have viewers on both main shows each week.
and Change the theme song please xD
Thursday Nights 9pm-11
Edge, Jericho, and HHH (the already established guys who dont need the Main Spotlight on the Main Show.. these guys can hold the title and when the time is right push the Up and comers..
McIntyre, Barrett Del Rio, Kane, Ziggler, Kingston, should all be in the Main Event spotlight as well in some capacity at some point!
When these guys i mentioned above are not in the WHC title picture.. they should be competiting for the Intercontinental title.. sorta how it was in the older times..
Michael Cole needs to be on SD! as well, but they need to find someone else to be on the mic with him.. Grisham blowed and so does striker.. and think the josh matthews guy is ok but definately not anything that should be permanent
New GM.. Teddy Long is so done.. He never appealed to me as the GM.. Vickie was a better GM.. but even she shouldn't step up to the full GM position again.. They need someone different who can draw heat or some noise from the crowd
I would like SD! to be live on thursday nights as well.. but im ok with it being taped if it were to air back on thursdays.. i almost never watch SD! when it actually airs do the friday being the party night ya know.. Back in 08-the beggining of 2010, I watched Smackdown on Mondays rather than raw, due to it being the better show.. but now i only watch if i hear of people talking about an interesting match..
but i wouldn't care if they taped it if it aired on thursday.
Its dumb.. all this stuff is little things, wouldn't cost vince much of anything to fix these things and have viewers on both main shows each week.
and Change the theme song please xD
TheRealDeal
Occasional Pre-Show
First thing is make Smackdown live.. I still don't mind having the brands seperated for now, but at least make Smackdown as important as RAW.. I feel they have almost the same kind of matches every week.. Rey vs Del Rio all along.. Bring on some new talent..
Whom I would reccomend? Firstly would be Sheamus, he could be a good main eventer in Smackdown and plus he would make a good feud with Edge.. Make him as one of the top guys... And now since Dolph Ziggler is getting the push as a WHC contender, I think they need to superstars like Drew, Rhodes, Dibiase [put him on Smackdown] and even R-Truth.. Dibiase and Truth are great as a midcarder and so is Evan Bourne.. He could make great mid matches with Kofi in an IC Title Match
Whom I would reccomend? Firstly would be Sheamus, he could be a good main eventer in Smackdown and plus he would make a good feud with Edge.. Make him as one of the top guys... And now since Dolph Ziggler is getting the push as a WHC contender, I think they need to superstars like Drew, Rhodes, Dibiase [put him on Smackdown] and even R-Truth.. Dibiase and Truth are great as a midcarder and so is Evan Bourne.. He could make great mid matches with Kofi in an IC Title Match
1. Make them a live show. Live shows get more ratings than taped shows that have spoilers.
2. Make them have the upper hand in the Draft. Make them get Sheamus, and Ted DiBiase Jr. to improve their roster because in about 2 years, Undertaker and Kane will retire, and if they don't prepare, people will complain about the Main Eventers.
3. Make Dolph Ziggler the World Heavyweight Champion!! He is working good matches, getting a lot of heat, the total package right now.
2. Make them have the upper hand in the Draft. Make them get Sheamus, and Ted DiBiase Jr. to improve their roster because in about 2 years, Undertaker and Kane will retire, and if they don't prepare, people will complain about the Main Eventers.
3. Make Dolph Ziggler the World Heavyweight Champion!! He is working good matches, getting a lot of heat, the total package right now.
LoudClearVoice
Mid-Card Championship Winner
I just can't get into Smackdown anymore. I haven't been interested in it for quite awhile now. Edge and Undertaker are two of my favorite wrestlers and I don't mind Big Show but other than that, I see it as garbage. No matter what anyone says, Smackdown will never be what it once was nor will it ever be RAW but with that said, here's what I would do to make it better.
1. I would make it live. I know this really isn't possible with the WWE's schedule but honestly, the taped part of it kills it IMO, because people can just read spoilers. Whether it means changing the night it is on or not having it on every week, it has to be live.
2. Move Randy Orton to Smackdown. I love Randy but I think he would help immensely on Smackdown in terms of new feuds and maybe helping out some of the up and coming talents. Cena should really end up back on Smackdown but I don't see that happening so I think Randy should go for the time being. Nothing against Randy Orton whatsoever.
3. This kinda ties into my first one: Change the day. If you can't make it live, go back to a night when more people will be likely to watch. As some have mentioned above, Friday night is not a night people want to be home watching wrestling. I realize we live in a world of DVR and many people don't watch shows on the night they air it but still, I think Thursday night, or even Saturday morning would be better.
1. I would make it live. I know this really isn't possible with the WWE's schedule but honestly, the taped part of it kills it IMO, because people can just read spoilers. Whether it means changing the night it is on or not having it on every week, it has to be live.
2. Move Randy Orton to Smackdown. I love Randy but I think he would help immensely on Smackdown in terms of new feuds and maybe helping out some of the up and coming talents. Cena should really end up back on Smackdown but I don't see that happening so I think Randy should go for the time being. Nothing against Randy Orton whatsoever.
3. This kinda ties into my first one: Change the day. If you can't make it live, go back to a night when more people will be likely to watch. As some have mentioned above, Friday night is not a night people want to be home watching wrestling. I realize we live in a world of DVR and many people don't watch shows on the night they air it but still, I think Thursday night, or even Saturday morning would be better.